Responding to the Religious Right

by DJ Grothe

When I attended college—a Christian liberal arts academy in east Texas—my
favorite professor assigned one textbook that changed my life. Written by David
Noebel, head of the Christian campus outreach organization Summit Ministries, it
was called Understanding the Times. In this book, as in his New York
Times best-selling Mind Siege, Noebel makes the case that secular
humanism is a religion. More than that, he argues that its the state-supported
religion of America's public schools. David Noebel gave me my first-ever
introduction to secular humanism.

Last spring, I had the opportunity to debate Noebel on the Bob Grant radio
show. I was on a trip to Colorado, visiting secular humanist groups allied with
the Council for Secular Humanism and our international college outreach program,
the Campus
Freethought Alliance. I loved the chance to debate Noebel, since I'm
grateful to him for writing the book that helped me start questioning my
fundamentalist Christian beliefs. For two hours on the radio show, we debated
the question of whether secular humanism is America's tax-supported religion.
And it was my pleasure to agree with him on many points.

DJ Grothe (left) shares a studio with
critic of secular humanism David Noebel.

How the Religious Right Is Right

Of course, we disagree about the definition of the word religion—I
hold the consensus definition of scholars in the field of religion; Noebel holds
a definition that's decades old, dismissed in the academy because it is too
broad. But we do agree that secular humanism has had its effects on society,
notably in the classroom. Noebel is right when he says that secular humanism is
the dominant intellectual and cultural worldview of the modern world.
Conservative intellectual Michael Novak has even equated secular humanism with
the whole project of modernity.1 I agree with them
when they argue that the secular revolution of modernity attempted to wrest
control of the institutions of society away from church domination—and largely
succeeded in doing so.

But Noebel and other powerful religious-political extremists seek to mobilize
their followers to "take back America from the secular humanists." In
language reminiscent of Usama bin Laden, these Christian activists call for
"Christian foot-soldiers" to be prepared to "fight with blood,
sweat, and tears" in the "battle for the heart and soul of
America."2 Faced with this kind of
religious-political activism, secular humanists must respond. Secularists and
humanists need to work together to defend and promote free inquiry, secular
values, and the good life. We must stand up against the assault on our freedoms
posed by these evangelical Christian activists. Therefore, the editors of Free
Inquiry are devoting this space to share news of the Council, our
outreach and educational activities, and to highlight events of the
organizations allied with us across the country.

Humanist and Council Activities Nationwide

June 22: Secular, humanist and freethought organizations in the
Pacific Northwest present the Fifth Annual Oregon Secular Symposium. Sponsors
include the Corvallis Secular Society, Humanist Association of Salem, Humanists
of Greater Portland, Humanists of North Puget Sound, and the United States
Atheists, among other secular and humanist societies in the region. Featured
speakers are Frank Zindler of American Atheists and Margaret Downey, founder of
the Freethought Society of Greater Philadelphia. In addition, there will also be
discussions and workshops. Members of the
Campus Freethought Alliance, and other secular, humanist and freethought groups
in the Pacific Northwest are invited to attend. For information, visit www.css.peak.org/symposium/.

July 14-28: The Center
for Inquiry Institute is dramatically consolidating and expanding its
educational and campus outreach initiatives through the creation of a two-week
summer school. For the first time, transferable undergraduate college credit
will be available through the State University of New York. This is in keeping
with the Council's tradition to hold an annual summer conference for students
involved with the Campus Freethought Alliance. The Institute's summer school
will establish a permanent, annual academic calendar for CFA members and
grass-roots secular and humanist activists. Visit www.centerforinquiry.net
or contact Austin Dacey, institute director, for information on scholarship
opportunities or for an application: adacey@centerforinquiry.net,
(716) 636-7571 ext. 223.

What You Can Do Today

The Campus Crusade for Christ has an annual operating budget approaching $400
million for campus outreach and proselytizing. Other Christian campus groups
have budgets of similar scope. With infinitely less money, the Council's Campus
Freethought Alliance supports affiliates on over a hundred campuses around the
world. To counter such hefty resources of the Religious Right, we invite you to
share Free Inquiry with freethinking students today. Encourage them to
join CFA by directing them to www.campusfreethought.org.
Membership is free; benefits include admission to student conferences, a special
Free Inquiry subscription rate, educational and promotional materials, and much
more.

The Council is proud to be America's leading organization for ethical,
nonreligious people. We look forward to working with you to advance our shared
high ideals in your area.

Notes

1. Michael Novak, "The Most Religious Century." New
York Times, May 24, 1998.

2. This claim comes from the Mind Siege training
video, published by Word/Nelson Publishing. Thousands of copies of this tape
have been distributed to churches across the country to "educate" and
motivate "Christian foot soldiers."

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